HMM-262 Command Chronology:
Mission H-0512-99. Two a/c shuttled 4,400 pounds of cargo between KyHa and Marble Mountain Air Facility. At approximately 1430H the number two aircraft crashed in the ocean at 125/15 from TACAN Channel 37. All four (4) crew members were killed. The aft pylon was observed to leave the aircraft before it entered the water. At 121645H, all CH-46's were grounded in the 1st MAW pending investigation of cracks in the aft transmission mount area.

Comment on Incident:

The following Marines were all aboard when it crashed into the South China Sea. The crash was the result of an aft pylon failure. All aircraft were subsequently returned to Okinawa for tail reinforcement and returned to duty.

Personal Letter:
Jay was the youngest of 3 brothers and the peacekeeper of the family. His mother, my grandmother, had wanted to encourage independence in her sons. Although financially the parents could afford college, Jay enrolled in school on an ROTC scholarship and was subsequently drafted after starting a family. My grandmother never forgave herself for his death and died of an apparent suicide in 1975.

My cousin was named Jay Anderson Mitchell and my baby sister was named Elizabeth Jaye Mitchell, both in his honor. Beth became a Marine, finishing 2nd in her class at Parris Island and is now a police detective in Bartlesville, OK.

Jay's widow married a good man who adopted and raised both of his children. Employed by World Bank, the family also had two more children and lived a good portion of their lives in SE Asia. Jay's son was able to attend the 1998 reunion of the Tigers and meet the man who recovered Jay's body from the water.
Submitted by Constance Bailey, niece of Jay Mitchell (age 2 1/2 in 1967 )